Yesterday we looked at some of the HR concerns that employees with diabetes in the workplace present. Today we cover more on that topic.
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- Employers may be well served to offer employee training that includes information on what to do if you suspect another employee is having a hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) emergency.
- Employers may want to consider providing a safe place for employees who inject insulin to dispose of their injection needles.
- Employers may want to consider how well diabetes is covered under their health insurance plans, as this could directly affect an employee’s ability to stay on the plan and even to stay employed with the organization. (If costs of diabetic supplies are covered better under a specific plan and that plan is canceled or changed, that could mean significant costs for the employee). Costs of managing diabetes can affect quality of life for an employee.
- An employee with diabetes may be seeing an endocrinologist to help manage the condition—and may have a significant history with that medical professional. If health insurance changes, this could mean that individual has to change what endocrinologist he or she sees—which represents a huge change and may be something that will cause an employee to seek other employment to regain insurance coverage with their preferred provider.
If an individual experiences one or more complications from diabetes, additional accommodations may be necessary.